Faded Memories
by GeminiGirl131
Summary: Some memories will never leave you. Katniss/Peeta; Post-Mockingjay/Pre-epilogue; Oneshot


The minute Katniss walked through the front door of her (_their_) house in the Victor's Village, she knew something was wrong. She didn't know how she knew, but something just felt…off.

"Peeta?" she called, hoping he would poke his blonde head out of the kitchen, a wide smile on his face as he greeted her. Or that he would bound down the stairs with that same boyish grin and wrap her up in his strong arms. But only silence answered her.

"Peeta?!" she called out, more frantically. She heard a crash in response. Katniss ran down the hall to the kitchen and came to a stop in the doorway. She watched as Peeta stood stock still, staring at the broken plate on the floor. "Peeta," she gently coaxed to him. His head whipped around, and she saw the rage in his eyes. He was in the middle of an episode.

They normally weren't this bad. Normally he would just come across a bad memory, and clutch the back of a chair, knuckles white and jaw clenched until it was over. But sometimes, that was not the case.

This was one of those times.

She watched as he glared at her, his eyes rapidly changing from blue, to black, to blue again. He growled in frustration, and grabbed another dinner plate, throwing it on the ground by the other one, the shards mixing together.

Suddenly he froze. Loud noises like that normally helped him focus. He stared at the pieces of glass, his face contorted in confusion.

She knew that she could do nothing to help him. And she hated that. She hated to stand by at a distance, and watch as he struggled with his emotions, struggled to come back to himself. She waited for him to snap out of it.

She watched as he slowly began to relax, the tension leaving his body. He then slowly slid his body down the wall and he buried his face in his hands.

Katniss slowly made her way across the room to him, making more noise than usual so she didn't startle him. She kneeled down in front of him, and watched as he blankly stared at his hands. She took them in hers, and gently rubbed soothing circles into his palms with her thumbs. He seemed to snap out of whatever trance he was in, and just took her in for a moment.

"Katniss?" he said quietl, sounding so much younger than eighteen-years-old.

"Yeah," she whispered back, "it's me." She brushed the sweaty hair off of his forehead. She watched as his bottom lip jutted out and began to wobble, tears pooling in his eyes. He looked about five-years-old.

"Did I hurt you?" he just managed to make out. His shaking hands started to move around her body, making sure there were no bruises, cuts or broken bones on her.

"No, Peeta. I'm fine," she reassured him. Then the tears started to flow down his cheeks, and she felt like she could start crying.

Peeta never cries. Sure he's sweet, and sensitive, but he is so much stronger than he looks. And to see her normally strong, steady Peeta become so vulnerable, made Katniss want to gather him up in her arms and shield him away from everything for the rest of his life.

She removed her hands from his and framed his face, gently wiping his tears away with her thumbs.

"Please don't cry," she begged him, placing a gentle kiss on his cheekbone. "Please, please, please don't cry…"

He was trying not to. She saw him struggle to hold them back. But they just kept coming. Katniss guided his head to her shoulder, and he didn't hesitate to bury his blonde locks into the crook of her neck. Then the sobs started. His shoulders shook as he sobbed and it damn near broke her heart. Hell, it DID break her heart. But she knew that there was nothing she could do. She just stroked his hair, his back, whispered things in his ear and held him while he sobbed and clung to her for dear life.

She noticed that his hands had landed in the shards. She gently eased him off of her so she could grab a towel to clean him up, when he held her tighter.

"Please don't leave me!" he pleaded, eyes wide with fear.

"I'm just getting a towel to clean your hands. I'm not going anywhere," she softly told him.

"Promise?" He still looked doubtful.

"I promise." She kissed his temple, and he reluctantly let her leave his grasp. As promised, she cam right back to him. He just watched as she gently wiped the blood from his hand, and made sure that there wasn't any left over glass in his hands. He only had a couple of scratches, which made Katniss sigh in relief.

Just as she was finishing up, Peeta whispered, "You love me. Real or not real?"

He always asked her this after an episode. To make sure that he wasn't imagining things. That she really was his.

She set the towel down, and took his face in her hands. "Real," she whispered.

And then she kissed him.

_A/N: So what did you think? Okay? I got a request for this a while back, but I wasn't quite sure how I wanted to do it. Then, BAM! I was inspired! Review and tell me what you think! Also, if you EVER want to request something, just send me a message, and I will try my best to write it for you! xoxo Hannah_


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